Here, on Little Gaetz Avenue outside the Central Alberta Refugee Effort office, is one spot where clients say they are constantly harassed. (Photo: rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

(Not so) welcoming and inclusive

Racism in Red Deer

Dec 17, 2019 | 6:00 AM

Red Deer has a racism problem.

Just ask newcomers who attend the Central Alberta Refugee Effort’s (CARE) downtown office. A number of them recently spoke to rdnewsNOW about their experiences, including one last March.

“We were at Sorensen Station. We were walking and a man pulled over. He was saying ‘f*** you’ and ‘go back to your country.’ I felt so bad,” says a woman who came to Canada from Ethiopia in 2011. rdnewsNOW is not identifying her.

“Now when we come to CARE, we’re scared, so we’ve changed our path,” she laments. “When we came to Canada, it was because my country is fighting. We wanted a safe country.”

Another man who witnessed that incident stepped in to see them along their way, she adds.

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Multiple times this year, stickers for Soldiers of Odin, a group known for intimidation tactics and white nationalism, have been put on the windows of CARE’s office.

A sticker encouraging people to join the Soldiers of Odin was seen on the window at Central Alberta Refugee Effort earlier this fall. (Photo supplied)

Deirdre Ashenhurst, co-chair of Red Deer’s Welcoming and Inclusive Communities (WIC) Network, says events like these aren’t surprising, but action must be taken to stop them.

“We should be doing better as a society. Where there’s a gap is with the people receiving this racism and treatment, because they’re not willing to speak up,” Ashenhurst points out. “It’s frightening to put your name out there and increase your chances of being a target. Then it seems like nothing is taking place because no one’s complaining.”

WIC submitted a letter to city council last January imploring them to speak up. Response, Ashenhurst says, was limited.

The City of Red Deer is one of about 80 Canadian municipalities that have signed on to the Coalition of Inclusive Communities (formerly the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination). Council passed a resolution signing on in 2013; being a member encourages internal diversity policy, and for action in the greater community.

The City is currently hiring for a full-time human resources specialist in diversity and inclusion, a role vacated this fall. Another vacant part-time position funded by the provincial Human Rights Education and Multicultural Fund won’t be filled because the Alberta Government has cancelled that grant as of 2020.

City Manager Allan Seabrooke says they are completely committed to diversity.

“We have mandatory training on diversity and inclusion … that creates a workforce reflective of the community and the citizens we serve,” he says. “We have to be careful of publicizing it so much that it goes against the good work. Those incidents represent a very small opinion of some people that just don’t have it right.”

rdnewsNOW asked all nine members of Red Deer city council to respond to recent racist incidents in the city. Here’s what they had to say:

Mayor Tara Veer: “Council and the City of Red Deer have a responsibility to respond to the social pulse of our community. We are actively working with community partners to monitor and respond to concerns of racism and discrimination, and to prevent it from occurring. While local police have indicated there has not been an increase in formal reporting of racism, it is fair to say there has been an escalation in anecdotal reports of concern. History soberly reminds us that words often eventually translate into actions, and it is therefore imperative that we remain vigilant in safeguarding the democratic equality of all.

Frank Wong: “When I came here in 1958/59, there was a lot of racism. By the 80s and 90s, there was less. Recently, we have so many visible minorities coming in from war-torn countries, and they come here trying to better themselves, and by taking service jobs. People think they’re taking jobs, but there are people from here who wouldn’t do them. We have to be more open. The last ten years it’s gotten worse.”

Lawrence Lee: “Having been raised in Red Deer and been subject to racism and discrimination, I can state firsthand that the City works very hard to ensure newcomers are welcomed in a respectful and inclusive manner. For Red Deer to evolve and grow in a healthy way, it’s fundamental to say racism and discrimination are simply not okay.”

Dianne Wyntjes: “Each of us must look in the mirror and open our minds and hearts to hearing and learning about colonialism and history that has affected people, and understanding marginalization of individuals such as Indigenous people. Read a book or hear someone speak at a community event, try a new food. Learn about the words ‘white privilege.’ We should challenge our own intolerance and prejudice.”

Vesna Higham: “Every living human soul is a child of God, which imbues us with an inescapable duty as human beings to treat each other with dignity and respect – irrespective of race, national/ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, mental/physical disability, gender, or sexual orientation. Racism and discrimination are simply wrong – particularly in a country or community like ours. It’s heart-wrenching to hear of ongoing incidents of intolerance and anti-immigrant sentiments.”

Ken Johnston: “Acts of racism are repugnant and unacceptable. These acts and the people that perpetrate them are in total opposition to the identity of our city. I wonder where the root of the behaviour lies; is it passed through families, cultures, ideologies? The key strategy for our city is to continue communicating literally and through our actions that we stand squarely against the blight of racism.”

Tanya Handley: “I recently heard Sheldon Kennedy speaking about harassment, bullying, abuse and discrimination, and his words also apply to acts of racism. One thing he spoke about is empowering bystanders. He didn’t mean in a physical manner, but empowering bystanders to recognize and address these injustices when they see them.”

Buck Buchanan: “Acts of racism are unacceptable anywhere and Red Deer is included. I believe we all have a responsibility to each other to be welcoming and inclusive. I love Red Deer and it’s up to us all to make it the best place we can. I don’t think this is something only council can do.”

Michael Dawe: “It’s very troubling. We all like to think that things have changed for the better and that old prejudices and racism are declining, but it is amongst us, and we need to be aware of that and respond when it happens. I have relatives who are first and second generation immigrants, and on the other side, I have family who are Métis and First Nations. You can’t call them immigrants, and yet there are people who behave very badly toward them because they don’t fit what people think the world should be like.”

Members of council noted the City’s many initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion. Most recently, Mayor Veer read a proclamation at a youth human rights conference. The City established WIC in 2015, and is a partner in the creation of a Red Deer Workplace Inclusion Charter. In 2017, city council signed a protocol agreement with the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society.

Since 2017, six incidents in Red Deer have been documented through StopHateAB.ca, which is operated by the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee. At least four were related to race and/or ethnicity, with one incident involving reported Nazism, and another where a driver at a downtown intersection yelled “stupid immigrants” at immigrant students waiting to cross.

According to Statistics Canada, 16.3 per cent of Red Deer residents were born outside Canada. StatsCan also says police-reported hate crimes nationwide were down 13 per cent in 2018, but that followed a 47 per cent jump from 2016 to 2017. With the exception of 2017, no other year had more police-reported hate crimes since 2009.

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